Hats off – or not?

I received an e-mail from reader Lars Johansson recently telling me that ‘BP in the UK no longer demands that motor cyclists remove their helmets when they enter a petrol station. As you know, there has been a boycott campaign against petrol stations requiring this, and BP seems to have changed its corporate mind on the issue.’

Lars was right about BP, although I wasn’t aware of the boycott (and by the way, why can’t it ever be a ‘girlcott’?). In the usual hamfisted corporate way, BP didn’t make the most of it ( a comment along the lines of ‘we trust our customers’ might have been nice) and just grudgingly said that the policy had been abandoned, but – wait for it – the signs would not be taken down!

In Australia we mostly hear complaints about Shell rather than BP station staff enforcing a rule (and that’s all it is) against helmet wearing. What most people seem to object to is that it’s sometimes applied to riders wearing open face helmets, or open flip-fronts. The reaction of Australian riders has not been all one way. There is also a lot of sympathy for the staff, who may be afraid of being robbed.

I suspect that much of the reaction against the helmet-off rule is just annoyance at the perceived rudeness of the staff. But courtesy cuts both ways.

As far as I’m concerned it’s a matter of common courtesy to take your helmet off when you enter a shop of any kind, but I must admit that I sometimes leave my open face on when it’s raining or I’m in a hurry.